Rosemary Michaels

Name: Rosemary Michaels

Gender: Female

Age: 17

Grade: 12th

School: Aurora High School

Hobbies and Interests: Reading, swim team, writing.

Appearance: Rosemary is around 5"7 in height and weighs about 138 pounds. She’s of above average height but not gawky-looking. She has an average bust size and small waist with a soft stomach, and straight legs, showing that she doesn’t have many curves. She has a round face with a small mouth, an average-sized nose, and dark brown eyebrows. She has light blue eyes and freckles along the bridge of her nose and cheeks. She has wavy dark blonde hair with natural strands of red and gold thrown in due to sun and chlorine exposure that ends at the middle of her back and is parted in the middle. She has pale-skin that is easily reddened.

Rosemary usually wears dark wash jeans and hoodies in solid colors or loose t-shirts with tank tops underneath. Her color scheme sticks to the cooler palette of blacks, grays, blues, and purples, and for footwear usually a pair of beat-up gray converse. She applies minimal make up save for sunscreen to keep her skin from burning.

On the day of the abduction Rosemary will be wearing a light gray zip up hoodie with a dark blue t-shirt underneath, dark wash straight leg jeans and her usual gray converse.

Biography: Rosemary was born in Los Angeles, California. The second child of Leo and Julia Michaels (nee Stewart), whom at the time were working as a High School science teacher and as a secretary at a law firm respectively; her older brother Ryan was four.

Both of Rosemary’s parents had graduated college and lived in a middle class suburb of Los Angeles. Rosemary had an average childhood and when she was old enough tagged along with her brother when he went to hang out with his friends, learning how to play soccer and how to swim at the local YMCA. At five years old Rosemary joined a club soccer team and played defender until a year later a ball kick to the head made her skittish of it on the field and caused her to drop out a few months later. During these years Rosemary was a cheerful child, though a bit emotional and sickly. Before she was given over the counter medication she’d have allergic reactions with runny eyes and sneezing when around dust or plants in bloom, which hampered sports activities during spring or early summer. There were a couple of problems with her throwing up because she felt agitated or distressed in kindergarten as well, but these gradually went away as she got used to school though reoccurrences can happen in times of great emotional stress.

In elementary school she had a good circle of friends but spent some recesses reading books out on the field instead of playing, causing a few of her classmates to think she was weird, though Rosemary didn’t seem to mind it. She wasn't heavily athletic and enjoyed thinking up games of make believe she would play with her friends, though that group dwindled as she got older.

The normality of the girl’s life changed when she was nine, when biking home from a friend’s her brother was hit by a speeding driver. Her parents tried to make it seem that it wasn’t too serious until they learned Ryan wasn’t wearing a helmet and with the accident suffered heavy damage to his brain. When the doctor’s told them he would never regain consciousness they decided to pull the plug. Rosemary never saw her brother again after his bike ride, which prevented her from having much closure. She would be sent to the nurses’ office a couple of times for breaking out in tears or throwing up during class in the months after the accident.

When Rosemary’s parents learned that Ryan hadn’t been wearing a helmet they put a lot of blame on themselves for not being stricter. They turned their guilt into fuel for being more protective of their remaining child and cut down the girl’s time outdoors unless they could be there to watch her, giving Rosemary more time to read. At first the girl complained about not being able to play with the neighborhood kids more, but after getting caught once running out to the street with cars nearby her parents screamed at her, making Rosemary afraid to see Leo and Julia react like that and the incident stopped her from sneaking out again.

When middle school hit Rosemary entered another personally challenging part of her life. The time spent indoors reading and not being active caused her to gain some weight and in the sixth grade she had to get braces to correct her overbite. Due to friends either moving away or moving on to different social circles Rosemary had no group of friends who shared her interests to rely on, making her an easy target for bullies. The girl tried to ignore the verbal abuse and kept it a secret from her parents because she didn't want to add on to their worries. After Ryan had died Rosemary wanted things to be back to normal, and she thought not making her parents worry would be the best way at making that normalcy return.

However what started out as teasing and verbal taunts turned into harassment during an incident in the seventh grade in the locker room that ended with Rosemary and a few other girls being sent to the Principles office. The instigators of the fight were suspended and Rosemary’s parents were contacted. The principle suggested putting her in a sport so she could concentrate her emotions into something productive and also as a way for her to get a healthier weight. She was still terrified of soccer and any other sport that involved a ball, so her parents suggested she take up swimming. Rosemary remembered how she used to have fun with Ryan at the local pool when she was younger and decided it was either that or the local track team, and after the teasing she had endured in timed sprints for PE Rosemary didn’t want to deal with that kind of humiliation she associated with running again. At first she wasn’t too keen on having a sport that showed off more of what she believed to be ugly body, but she was out of other options.

Rosemary was put onto a local swim team and once she lost some weight found out she had the endurance for long-distance 500 yard freestyle and the 100 yard butterfly. During this time Rosemary slowly started to have acquaintances at her swim lessons and friends in class to talk to, but the girl continued to distance herself from others. Not having much of social life though helped her succeed in academics, and Rosemary made Superintendents Honor Roll every year in middle school.

The summer before her freshman year her father received a pink slip around the time when the recession hit. Leo moved the family up to Seattle after a friend from college named Warren Little offered him a job at the middle school he worked at. They moved to a less developed part of the city, a small condo that was a downsize from their old house. After the move Julia had a hard time finding a steady job, which made the relationship between her and Leo a bit strained.

Though her parents’ marriage was getting rocky the move and Leo and Julia focusing less on their daughter gave Rosemary the freedom to explore her new environment. Walking up and down the streets of Seattle until her curfew gave her a look on the outside world that she had been unaware of during her sheltered years. A few times after having her excursions she began to take notebooks with her and jot down the things and people she saw, sometimes developing them into short stories. A few of these stories she posted online but hasn’t entered any contests or made moves to publish them as of yet.

As she went into adolescence Rosemary would be vague about her school experiences and how she spent her days to her parents. The girl continued to try and be the perfect daughter she thought her parents wanted even more now that they were going through financial troubles and trying to make ends meet.

Rosemary entered Aurora High as a freshman and since then has maintained a high GPA and joined the school’s swim team to keep in shape. After she got her braces off, Rosemary started to receive some attention from boys but never responded due to still lurking body and trust issues because of the bullying she endured back in middle school, feeling they would make fun of her if she wasn’t what they expected. The girl has friends in multiple social circles but remains a bit of a floater, preferring to have space and alone time to read.

The people who know of her describe her as nice and polite, but that's about as much as Rosemary lets people know about her. Rosemary doesn’t like to share her personal thoughts with others, preferring to write the thoughts down in one of her notebooks. Though she tries to hide it Rosemary is still an emotional person and is afraid of being rejected by others. When dealing with people she knows a bit better she uses sarcasm regularly, but when they asked to be given a straight answer either changes the subject or uses euphemisms. This has to some made her wishy-washy, though Rosemary doesn’t realize this. She wants to be liked or at least tolerated by her peers and thinks that if she isn’t extreme in her opinions she’ll be liked by more people.

Because her parents were so overprotective Rosemary retains much of her innocence about life, but is not naive. After a short separation during Rosemary's sophomore year, Leo and Julia have since reconciled most of their differences, but still argue from time to time. Julia now works part time as a librarian, which Rosemary definitely takes advantage of by checking out as many books as possible a week. Rosemary has continued to love her parents, keeping her nose clean by staying away from drugs and alcohol, but still doesn't share her feelings with them very much. She sometimes thinks about what life would have been like if her brother Ryan were still alive, and still has sad feelings about it. Though with age she has gained more freedom both Leo and Julia are still very protective of their daughter and have strict curfews, which make it difficult for Rosemary to go to many parties. Though she sometimes feels constrained Rosemary is terrified of large gatherings of people she doesn't know, and if ever invited she would go find a vacant corner and wait until her ride was ready most of the time.

The family still is grieving in some ways after losing Ryan. Leo and Julia don’t have very many friends outside of their respective workplaces and compared to other adults are homebodies. Rosemary’s early experience with death makes it hard for her to make strong bonds with others since she’s afraid of losing them unexpectedly. This past year has been the first one the family has gone through without dreading the Ryan’s birth and death date. Rosemary’s parents have also tried to involve themselves in associations and clubs around Seattle, though Rosemary remains more of an indoor person.

The girl doesn’t have a favorite genre but is fond of classic authors such as the Bronte and Dickens. Rosemary enjoys the feeling that even though what she’s reading is fiction in another time or place it could’ve been possible for such events in a story to occur. When Rosemary is reading she tends to block out anything that is around her until she has reached the end of a chapter or a certain point, making communication difficult. Rosemary enjoys all types of food but tends to eat in moderation in fear of gaining weight. In order to have spending money Rosemary tutors people in the library after school. She keeps her cost low so she can get more customers.

Her house is now in a nice neighborhood but since her parents have lower incomes they can't afford to live outside the city in the suburbs and instead reside in a two bedroom condo close to the library where Julia works. Rosemary is planning on going to community college to save money and take her remaining general education requirements before thinking about the prospects of going to a university. So far she's shown interest in possibly taking Creative Writing or English Literature, hoping to become a writer someday.

Advantages: Her time on swim team has given her a conditioned body and good endurance. She is smart and capable at coming up with plans when necessary.

Disadvantages: Her low self-esteem makes it hard for her to trust others, which could be a deal breaker in alliances. Rosemary also has dust and pollen allergies that can become severe when she doesn’t have her medication and vomiting when in high emotional distress.

Designated Number: Female student no. 006

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Designated Weapon: Butterfly Knife

Conclusion: Poor self esteem hurts, G006. Getting stressed can be hard, and you don't have the best weapon, but you never know. Some real losers have gotten out of here before, so just keep your head about you and soldier on and maybe you'll be next. Stranger things have happened. - Christina Stockton

'The above biography is as written by MrMissMrs Random. No edits or alterations to the author's original work have been made.'

Evaluations
Handled by: MrMissMrsRandom

Kills: Joey Caputo

Killed By: Katarina Konipaski

Collected Weapons: Butterfly Knife (designated weapon), TOZ-194 12 ga. pump-action shotgun (BKA prize, to Travis Webster)

Allies: Meera Stele, Joey Caputo, Paulo Abbate

Enemies: Alda Abbate, Travis Webster

Mid-game Evaluation: Rosemary awoke near the nuclear reactors, panicking as she recalled the events of the abduction. She forced herself to calm down so that she wouldn't throw up, and examined her supplies, finding her weapon. She managed to stay calm until she heard a scream from somewhere in the nearby structures, and sat repeating a mantra of control to herself until Katarina Konipaski entered the room she was in. Rosemary and KK warily regarded each other as KK inquired about Rosemary's weapon, she herself being rather obviously armed with a scythe. Rosemary revealed the knife, and Katarina initiated a verbal game of cat and mouse, trying to convince Rosemary to give it up. Rosemary was resistant, calling Katarina's bluff that she might turn violent and rebutting her statements about the most logical way to play the game. Rosemary herself was still unsure about how to go about things, frightened of the ideas of death, hurting someone else, and allying with others in general. She remained firm on not giving up her knife, and finally broke down into near-hysterical laughter as they continued to debate. KK followed suit, and they finally parted on reasonably good terms, with KK urging Rosemary to not give her weapon up to anyone else.

Post-Game Evaluation:

Memorable Quotes:
 * "It's better to either care just about yourself and keep yourself alive, o-or care about the living. Those are the things that will count in the end."
 * "What has a face but never cries?"

Other/Trivia

 * In August '13, Rosemary won the BKA along with Joachim Lovelace and Maximilian Sawyer.
 * Rosemary was born August 19th.

Threads
Below is a list of threads that contain Rosemary, in chronological order.

The Past:
 * Bathroom Blues
 * Lonely Hearts Club

Pre-Game:
 * Magic Man
 * St. Edwards Bake Sale
 * Pass or Fail (Content Warning)
 * Touch, Pause, Disengage
 * Free Samples with Purchase
 * Rushing It at the Last Moment

V5: Threads Related in Meanwhile...:
 * Shake it Out
 * Where on the island is Carmen Sandiego?
 * Drip drop.
 * Nobody Wants This
 * Tender is The Night
 * What Now?
 * Path of Pins
 * Repeat
 * What Now? (second visit to thread)
 * Kill All Motherfuckers
 * For Remembrance
 * Schwarze Rosen
 * Hortensius
 * Retrograde
 * I Dig my Hole, You Build a Wall

Your Thoughts
''Whether you were a fellow handler in SOTF or just an avid reader of the site, we'd like to know what you thought about Rosemary Michaels. What did you like, or dislike, about the character? Let us know here!''
 * Rosemary, though having the dubious honor as my first SOTF character, I don't find especially cringe worthy. She was a character I decided after writing her enough, that I would try to write as her time on the island showing her at her best instead of her worst. However, the problems I have are not with her character but my own fears as a writer. Rosemary always felt hovering on the edge, as I believe someone said in a podcast, of being "a main character," but I couldn't take the plunge with her. I'm content with where she ended up, but feel I could have done better by her with taking more risks after that fateful event with Joey.-- MrMissMrs Random